Page 21 - THE SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS JOURNAL
P. 21
ll businesses will face increased
logistics and e-commerce costs due
to the retraction of widely supported
U.S. digital trade rules.
How will USTR’s move impact What's next?
small businesses?
As noted in a recent letter outlining the
Unlike larger companies, smaller USTR decision’s impacts on smaller firms:
businesses with fewer products, service “Stepping away from the negotiating table
lines, and resources usually cannot carry weakens the global competitiveness of
the increased costs of data localization, U.S. startups and small businesses and
forced technology transfers, and arbitrary cedes leadership to countries like China
application of regulation to U.S. firms. that remain at the table, buoying anti-
Removing U.S. support for combating democratic and oppressive governance
cross-border data restrictions will make it proposals and policies that directly
easier for other countries to impose forced contradict U.S. policies, including those just
localization of data or other measures on agreed to by the United States in the G7.”
critical data flows. It will also make it harder
for smaller businesses to move their data Small and medium-sized businesses are
across borders. resilient, but that doesn’t mean they are
impervious to the harm wrought by sudden
Additionally, ending U.S. support for policy changes. They shouldn’t have to
source code protections will make it worry that the U.S. government won’t have
easier for adversaries to carry out cyber their back. USTR needs to restore America’s
and intellectual property theft against longstanding support for strong digital
vulnerable businesses—the costs for which trade rules—for the sake of U.S. businesses
are harder for small businesses to bear. of all sizes.
Finally, weakening protections for U.S.
companies abroad will incentivize foreign
governments to employ discriminatory
practices as a way of generating revenue or
meeting political goals—all at the expense
of the U.S. economy.
This all comes at a time when global
barriers—like data localization measures
and other regulatory restrictions—to U.S.
digitally tradeable services exports are on
the rise. Left unchecked, the proliferation
of these restrictions threatens to deprive
American workers and companies of the
potential benefits of exporting digitally
tradeable services.
SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS JOURNAL 18
logistics and e-commerce costs due
to the retraction of widely supported
U.S. digital trade rules.
How will USTR’s move impact What's next?
small businesses?
As noted in a recent letter outlining the
Unlike larger companies, smaller USTR decision’s impacts on smaller firms:
businesses with fewer products, service “Stepping away from the negotiating table
lines, and resources usually cannot carry weakens the global competitiveness of
the increased costs of data localization, U.S. startups and small businesses and
forced technology transfers, and arbitrary cedes leadership to countries like China
application of regulation to U.S. firms. that remain at the table, buoying anti-
Removing U.S. support for combating democratic and oppressive governance
cross-border data restrictions will make it proposals and policies that directly
easier for other countries to impose forced contradict U.S. policies, including those just
localization of data or other measures on agreed to by the United States in the G7.”
critical data flows. It will also make it harder
for smaller businesses to move their data Small and medium-sized businesses are
across borders. resilient, but that doesn’t mean they are
impervious to the harm wrought by sudden
Additionally, ending U.S. support for policy changes. They shouldn’t have to
source code protections will make it worry that the U.S. government won’t have
easier for adversaries to carry out cyber their back. USTR needs to restore America’s
and intellectual property theft against longstanding support for strong digital
vulnerable businesses—the costs for which trade rules—for the sake of U.S. businesses
are harder for small businesses to bear. of all sizes.
Finally, weakening protections for U.S.
companies abroad will incentivize foreign
governments to employ discriminatory
practices as a way of generating revenue or
meeting political goals—all at the expense
of the U.S. economy.
This all comes at a time when global
barriers—like data localization measures
and other regulatory restrictions—to U.S.
digitally tradeable services exports are on
the rise. Left unchecked, the proliferation
of these restrictions threatens to deprive
American workers and companies of the
potential benefits of exporting digitally
tradeable services.
SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS JOURNAL 18
